As with most things in life, there are downsides and upsides to religion. Becoming a believer of Christianity at 22, in my opinion, offers more positive benefits. I won't go into great detail here, but I feel the good greatly outweighs the bad. I'm able to approach my spritual journey with a sense of freshness and maturity, furthermore a sense of autonomous thinking (dare I say existential!?), that I wasn't able to afford myself at the age of 16, or even 20. For this I'm very grateful, and wouldn't change a thing.
So then there's the emergent church. I'm still getting my mind around it all, but it's a big thing. 16-30 year olds are flocking to it, and I find myself in the midst of the pack. It's contemporary. It's provocative. It's relevant. It's... making some people angry. (of course I'm not looking to get caught up in the pitfalls of movements or denominations... rather I focus on two things: how I connect with God and the vitality of the church in a broadly ecumenical sense)
Here is a good interview, although the woman doing the interview is obviously not a fan, that highlights one of the many facets of the emergent church.
Listen to this...
Or even better, read this article.
6 comments:
hi, stranger. i don't believe i've ever had the opportunity to say that and be literal. i'm at work, it's boring, i pressed the "next blog" button, yours came up and it is both insightful and amusing. i just thought you might like some support from the huddled masses. or me. who you don't know.
Francesca,
that's very nice of you to say... admittedly inspiring as well...
Thanks :)
It's not about movements or labels. It's all about a relationship with Jesus. Keep it simple. Read the Bible more than you read articles about the Bible or the faith. Find a church where you feel comfortable and you're being fed and get involved. Simple ways to a fulfilled, purpose-driven life. :)
I think that's pretty much correct; the notion that simplest is often best.
m
Here are my thoughts about the emergent "movement" in Christianity. If it is of God, it will last. If not, it will pass. The important thing is following Christ. The new movements come when people who do things differently try to appropriate following Christ into something that actually relates to their world.
Christ never changes, the Biblical truth behind how to follow Him never changes. People do change, and the things that we pay attention to and the ways we interact with our world also change. My hope is that as we change, that we would find genuine ways to interact with and follow the unchangable living Christ among us.
I think you are exactly right Paul. Good comment man. I need to remember that above all things.
Thanks man :)
Michael
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